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The Cell
Metascore
40 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 32
  3. Negative: 12 out of 32
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It's one of the best films of the year.
  2. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    Something of an unforgettable experience.
    All this critic's reviews
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    Disturbing, visually stunning thriller.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    70
    Tarsem uses the dramatically shallow plot to create a dream world densely packed with images of beauty and terror that cling to the memory even if you don't want them to.
    All this critic's reviews
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Mark Caro
    63
    Impresses more than it entertains.
    All this critic's reviews
  6. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    63
    Has its effectively nasty, chilling moments -- and it also brings body piercing to new heights of ickiness.
    All this critic's reviews
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    63
    Many of the film's images will prove more than some viewers can take.
    All this critic's reviews
  8. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    63
    The Cell is eye candy - but it could give your brain a bad case of indigestion.
    All this critic's reviews
  9. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    60
    Repetitive, aimless, and as frustrating as you'd imagine any two-hour music video to be.
    All this critic's reviews
  10. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    The costumes are phenomenal, the set design ravishing and the sadistic inventiveness extraordinary.
  11. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Amy Taubin
    60
    Not nearly the mindfuck it wants to be.
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    58
    The Cell is foremost about singular imagery, a succession of still pictures strung together frame by frame.
  13. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    The action is as grisly as it is surrealistic.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    50
    A high-tech freak show, a gallery of grotesqueries that are fascinating and repellent.
    All this critic's reviews
  15. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    Generic variation on the overworked serial-killer genre.
    All this critic's reviews
  16. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    50
    Visually impressive but exceedingly unpleasant little nail-biter.
  17. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    50
    Mr. Singh may have an artist's temperament, and he shows signs of being a director
  18. TNT RoughCut
    Reviewed by: J. Rentilly
    50
    A must-see movie, simply for its awe-inspiring production values, but you'll feel nothing but punished by Tarsem's ghoulish parade of images.
    All this critic's reviews
  19. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    40
    What makes The Cell worth viewing at all is the carefully sculpted imagery.
  20. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    40
    Riveting in its low way. It traffics in imagery profoundly disturbing.
  21. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    38
    There's so little action or suspense that this Cell isn't too likely to multiply itself into a sequel.
    All this critic's reviews
  22. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    30
    It's a pleasure to watch, but I found myself wondering if having a story here even mattered to the director at all.
  23. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    30
    Jennifer Lopez's butt? Alas, the moment is over all too soon; the movie, sadly, is not.
  24. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Gemma Files
    30
    Visually stunning but emotionally shallow.
  25. Variety
    Reviewed by: Emanuel Levy
    30
    A slender story that's not particularly suspenseful or involving, resulting in a movie that's a feast to the eye but not much for the intellect.
  26. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    25
    It's mesmerizing nonetheless for its flagrant disregard for narrative, character, pacing, performance and good lighting.
  27. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    20
    If The Cell were six minutes long it would blow your mind. At two hours, it's a disordered muddle of hellacious highs and pedestrian lows.
  28. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    20
    Disappointing only because its best moments are transcendent; its worst moments, sadly, are just so ordinary.
  29. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    20
    Serves up some of the most gruesomely misogynistic imagery in years, then ends with a bid for understanding. Are its makers so deluded that they think they're making the world a more compassionate place?
  30. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    20
    Almost no plot here and even less character--just a lot of pretexts for S-M imagery, Catholic decor, gobs of gore, and the usual designer schizophrenia.
  31. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Bob Graham
    0
    Any way you slice it, it is still pointless.
  32. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    0
    Some movies make you sorry you've seen them, and The Cell is one of those. Creepy and horrific, it's a torture chamber film.
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User Reviews

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User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 3 out of 15
  1. cabrita
    9
    I am having a hard time wrapping my head around these bad reviews. I am a movie lover who normally is not a big fan of style over substance, but I found this film to have a good story with a well written screenplay. The film uses it's wild imagery to create suspense and to ultimately create a very engaging well paced film. The movie's themes were well laid out and developed and find resolution in a very subtle way. Overall the film ranks high on my favourite serial killer films. Not quite as good as the silence of the lambs but still good none the less.… Full Review »
  2. JustinSmith
    6
    Tarsem Singh's directorial debut, The Cell, contains more style than substance, and is weighed down with it's special effects and a side-story that should have been left on the cutting room floor. At the same time, elaborate costuming and great shots that turn the most desolate sand dunes into beautiful landscapes, present a great director in the making and enough story to keep the audience along for the ride. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is a psychotherapist who has been working with a comatose child by getting inside his mind via a virtual reality styled setup that includes a breast accentuating suit, suspension from wires, and a face covering towel that looks like a computer circuit-board. Meanwhile, there's a killer on the loose and the FBI hopes that Catherine can get inside the killer's mind to find his latest victim before it's too late. It's difficult to discuss The Cell, without mentioning Tarsem's 2006 film The Fall. Because everything Tarsem did wrong in The Cell he did right in The Fall. The Cell was a learning experience for Tarsem, and he learned his lessons well. The Cell is set up like a coin, there are two sides that come together to make one movie, unfortunately one side of the coin is more polished than the other. In this case the polished side is Tarsem's non-CGI visuals, many of which are influenced by great paintings, but the CGI effects are in overload throughout many parts of the film and it's distracting. There are several moments within The Cell that hearken to David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990-1991), which stands to reason as both, Tarsem and Lynch, are visual directors. Catherine's story line with the killer, Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), is interesting and provides many great visuals. The parallel crime drama storyline, however, is lame, even by C.S.I. standards. Vince Vaughn is passable as Peter Novak, the FBI agent who has a past of his own to overcome, but the character is uninspired. Any actor could have played Peter Novak and it wouldn't have made a difference. Jennifer Lopez's performance improves with the increasing bizarreness of her costumes, which both come to a peak in the third act. Vincent D'Onofrio is good as the killer, whose fetishes would give Jeffrey Dahmer a run for his money. Although D'Onofrio executed the part well, I can't help but wonder what Philip Seymour Hoffman would have done with the role. Despite it's flaws, The Cell doesn't leave you empty handed, and it shows a first time director learning his strengths and weaknesses, which payed off six years later when he directed The Fall.… Full Review »
  3. charlieb
    4
    How cud spell check head check" Roger Ebert Give this a 100. Bought off. critics are not? What? The movie isn't bad . But the whole premise of people being suspended on hooks and having their minds and dreams. SAY WhaT? hOEKEY. Hard to believe. Lame. but watchable.… Full Review »
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